Microarray gene expression analysis of Monochamus alternatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) after treatment with a sublethal dose of chloramine phosphorus

Abstract

Monochamus alternatus Hope (Coleoptera: cerambycidae), the Japanese pine sawyer beetle, is a serious pest management concern in pine stands. A new organophosphorus insecticide, chloramine phosphorus (CP), has been applied as an insecticide in China to control M. alternatus. In this study, we investigated gene expression changes in M. alternatus after 4 h of exposure to CP using a 60-mer oligonucleotide microarray. The results showed that 356 genes were differentially expressed, of which 76 were upregulated and 280 were downregulated. GO enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes indicated that those involved in structural molecule activity and transporter activity were among the most highly represented. Within the cellular component category of GO, cell and cell part were the most represented GO terms in upregulated genes. “Cellular process” was the most represented GO term in the biological process category among the downregulated genes. Molecular pathway analysis showed that a large portion of the differentially expressed genes were associated with metabolic pathways. This study sought to identify new biomarkers as nonacetylcholinesterase targets to assess the secondary effects of CP on M. alternatus and will provide a valuable resource for the scientific community to study the molecular toxicology of CP.